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Todd Stewart Earns ‘Credit’ for his Late Season ‘Charge’
By Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications
The 2008 DIRTcar 358 modified schedule at Brockville Ontario Speedway was actually a tale of 2 seasons for Bath, Ontario driver Todd Stewart. The veteran shoe started the year with a string of finishes that he’d personally describe as ‘not too bad’, but as soon as he earned his first win of the year – Saturday, July 5th – Stewart became one of the hottest drivers in small block modified racing.
Saturday, August 30th Todd Stewart advanced to Brockville’s 30 lap DIRTcar small block modified feature via a 3rd place finish in the night’s second qualifying heat. Because a 3 week handicapping process determines feature race starting spots, Stewart came to the line 12th in the main event. The first yellow flag slowed the field on lap 5, with the #72 car in 6th place and Brockville’s eventual 2008 track champion Danny O’Brien 9th. Stewart had moved into 3rd spot when a lap 11 caution period bunched the pack and slipped into the runner-up spot by the 16th circuit.
From there, it was a story of the hunter and the hunted. Stewart set-off in pursuit of race leader Bill Gill, while O’Brien was glued to his rear bumper. A 3 car incident on lap 22 was the final caution of the night. The field crossed the line with Gill, Stewart and O’Brien making-up the top 3. His consistent performance during the second half of the season moved Todd Stewart into 3rd place in Brockville’s final DIRTcar 358 modified standings. In 14 starts, he recorded 1 win, 6 top 5’s and 10 top 10 finishes.
His late season success has turned the #72 Red Line Oil/Stewart Speed Supplies/ReMax Realty Concepts-Penny Blake/Southeastern Telecommunications/B & G Trailer Sales/Latimer’s Equipment/RW Electric/Anchor Concrete Products/Interprovincial Insulation/Fort Glass/Kwik Kopy/Dig n’ Dirt/Northwood 2 Construction/OSSO Electric Supplies team into a mutual admiration society. The driver can’t stop bragging about how great the crew sets-up their TEO Pro Car every week. The crew – led by Stewart’s brother and car owner, Glenn – is full of praise for their driver. Everyone is gushing about how well their new racecar has performed on a week-to-week basis.
This weekend – Saturday, September 6th – Todd Stewart will conclude his 2008 season at the Brockville Ontario Speedway 171. The track will run the final 96 laps of the Lucas Oil Canadian Dirt Challenge and then move into a regular program, concluding with a 75 lap Super DIRTcar 358 modified tour event. Time trials begin at 6:30. Racing starts at 7:00.
For more information on Todd Stewart and his 2008 program, see www.geocities.com/stewartmotorsports72/
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